UNESCO HIV and Health Education Clearinghouse

The effects of school-related gender-based violence on academic performance : evidence from Botswana, Ghana and South Africa

Washington: USAID, 2016. ii, 80 p.

Authors:

Kibriya, Shahriar

Tkach, Benjamin

Ahn, Jaehyun

Valdez Gonzalez, Natalia

Xu, Zhicheng

Zhang, Yu

Organizations:

Center on Conflict and Development at Texas A&M University

ISBN:

978-1-4951-7144-4

Description:

School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV) is a global phenomenon that has the potential for serious and significant effects on students’ well-being and performance. It is based on and reinforces gendered stereotypes present in society and includes a variety of behaviors, such as sexual violence and harassment, corporal punishment, and bullying. The impact of school violence on students’ health and psychological development has been well documented. However, research on the consequences of school violence on academic achievement in different contexts was not addressed until recent times. Quantitative evidence of such phenomena for developing countries has been largely absent. This study—a collaboration between the Center on Conflict and Development (ConDev) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)—contributes to filling this gap in the literature by examining SRGBV through the lens of bullying in Botswana, Ghana, and South Africa.